Tag Archives: lifestyle

This photo taken in Mumbai, India is worth far more than a thousand words. And it is extremely timely, as well.

On his very first full day in office BLOTUS began with an egocentric presentation at the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia attacking the press. It was his normal “more lies than truth” routine. At issue was the size of his smaller than average hands inauguration crowds. (Obviously, size does matter for our country’s new Liar-in-Chief)

Then, only hours later his press secretary gave a five minute press statement again attacking and denouncing the press while repeating the BLOTUS lies. Naturally, none of the press were allowed to ask questions.

The Trump Way is to lie about the lies he lied only hours or days earlier. He castigates the press because facts are not his friends. I stand with the press. We must not give in to the bullying and intimidation of BLOTUS. We must not tolerate the “gaslighting.” We all must hold him accountable for ever lie he spews forth, large or small.

The Trump Way is the way of dictators and despots throughout history. But, it is not the American way. And it’s certainly not my way.

This morning’s gospel reading is from the 11th chapter of Matthew. John the Baptist is in Herod’s dungeon. When he hears of what Jesus was doing, he sends his followers to ask him if he (Jesus), is the Messiah.

The answer Jesus gives to John’s followers is both simple and direct. There’s no mistaking the actions, or the values, of Jesus.

“Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

Look around you. The ones you see doing the works, and living the values of Jesus, are those who demonstrate an authentic Christian spirituality. You can see “Christian values.” They are centered on helping those most in need.

President Carter nailed it with this comment. And as the recent Presidential election has so clearly demonstrated, most of us do not care about Christian values. We voted our fear instead of our faith. We put our faith in change rather than in love.

The man we have chosen for president does not reflect the values of Jesus Christ. I do not care about parties, tags, or even promises. But, I do care about a visible, historical record of lying, greed, fraud, hatred, vengeance, bullying, racism and a serious lack of self control.

I (and the entire world) have witnessed all of those in our president-elect. It’s the way he lives. It’s his lifestyle. What I haven’t seen is love, caring, compassion, joy and a desire for justice. We have elected a leader that reflects the opposite of Christian values.

Electing Donald Trump as our next president is a clear statement of our new national values. And they are anything but Christian.

The Apostle Paul provides us with a clear and concise reminder of how we are to live as followers of Jesus Christ. These are traits that reflect God’s love, and they demonstrate a serious attempt to model our lives like our master and teacher.

If these traits are not evident in a person’s lifestyle it might be a sign of a shallow spirituality, or that there is no real depth to their discipleship. We demonstrate our faithfulness by the way we live, not by what we say.

I have a real issue with this. We live in a world where over 20 of our family still die every day from hunger. This, therefore, strikes me as obscene.

I think of myself as a practicing Christian, and for me such inequality is a matter of both basic morality and faithfulness to the teaching of Christ. Allowing any to starve, or even go in want, is unacceptable when we have means to prevent it. It is wrong on every level.

Facts such as these serve as a reality check. Such disparity is a clear indication that we refuse to accept we are one family. Such statistics also demonstrate that calling ourselves followers of Jesus Christ is far different than living as one.

We live in a world where hunger can eradicated in the next 15 years. That’s a fact, not an opinion. Why, then, are not those of us claiming to follow the Prince of Peace doing all in our power to make it happen?

We live at a time when the gulf between the rich and the poor is widening at an alarming rate. Why, then, are we are have been taught that the worship of wealth is idolatry bowing before our bank accounts and continuing to pile up our possessions?

We live in an age where so many of our leaders insist we live in fear and hatred of our neighbors. The Jesus portrayed in the Gospels taught just the opposite. As His followers, as his disciples, we are to be known by our love for each other.

Our faith, what we truly believe in, is demonstrated by how we live. Our lifestyles, the daily choices we make, determine the true depth of our discipleship.

This powerful quote by Cory Booker sums it up. Talk is cheap. We show the world what we believe by the way we live.